Posted in: Movies | Tagged: ben wheatley, berberian sound studio, bifa, sightseers, toby jones

Serial Killers And Giallo Lead The Pack At British Independent Film Awards

Published Mon, 05 Nov 2012 12:13:57 -0600

Last updated Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:00:21 -0600

The British Independent Film Awards have today announced their nominations for this year's awards ceremony, which takes place on December 9th, and regular readers of Bleeding Cool will probably spot a few familiar names amongst the nominees.

The awards cover all British films that have been theatrically released, or screened at a festival, over the past year. There is no budget limit, since BIFA have stated that, "Films are not defined as "independent" strictly on the terms of financing," but films with major studio backing are only eligible if they have a budget of $20M or less. The nominees include a number of the films that Patrick Dane and myself saw at this year's London Film Festival, and a couple that are of particular interest.

First up is Sightseers, a black comedy about caravanning and serial killing which I foolishly passed up the opportunity to see earlier this year. Directed by Ben Wheatley, with Edgar Wright as executive producer, Sightseers is the story of a couple whose romantic sightseeing trip takes a turn for the dark and murderous, and has been nominated for seven awards, including Best Film, Best Actress and Best Actor.

The second film of interest is Berberian Sound Studio, a horror film about horror films. More specifically it's the tale of a 70s sound engineer, played by Toby Jones, who creates gruesome sound effects for an Italian film studio, only to find the work seeping into his personal life and messing with his head. Fans of Dario Argento and Lucio Fulcio will definitely find this one worth a watch. Berberian Sound Studio also has seven nominations, including one in Best Technical Achievement for its sound design.

Here are the full list of nominees, published today over at BIFA.

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM

Sponsored by Moët & Chandon

Berberian Sound Studio

Broken

Sightseers

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

The Imposter

BEST DIRECTOR

Sponsored by AllCity & Intermission

Bart Layton – The Imposter

Ben Wheatley – Sightseers

John Madden – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Peter Strickland – Berberian Sound Studio

Rufus Norris – Broken

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR]

Sponsored by 3 Mills Studios

Bart Layton – The Imposter

Ben Drew – Ill Manors

Rowan Athale – Wasteland

Rufus Norris – Broken

Sally El Hosaini – My Brother the Devil

BEST SCREENPLAY

Sponsored by BBC Films

Abi Morgan – The Iron Lady

Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Amy Jump – Sightseers

Mark O'Rowe – Broken

Paul Andrew Williams – Song for Marion

Peter Strickland – Berberian Sound Studio

BEST ACTRESS

Sponsored by M.A.C

Alice Lowe (Tina) – Sightseers

Andrea Riseborough (Colette McVeigh) – Shadow Dancer

Elle Fanning (Ginger) – Ginger & Rosa

Judi Dench (Evelyn Greenslade) – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Meryl Streep (Margaret Thatcher) – The Iron Lady

BEST ACTOR

Riz Ahmed (Aaron) – Ill Manors

Steve Oram (Chris) – Sightseers

Terence Stamp (Arthur) – Song for Marion

Tim Roth (Archie) – Broken

Toby Jones (Gilderoy) – Berberian Sound Studio

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Alice Englert (Rosa) – Ginger & Rosa

Eileen Davies (Carol) – Sightseers

Maggie Smith (Muriel Donnelly) – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Olivia Colman (Queen Elizabeth) – Hyde Park on Hudson

Vanessa Redgrave (Marion) – Song for Marion

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Sponsored by Sanderson & St Martins Lane

Billy Connolly (Wilf) – Quartet

Cillian Murphy (Mike Kiernan) – Broken

Domhnall Gleeson (Connor) – Shadow Dancer

Rory Kinnear (Bob Oswald) – Broken

Tom Wilkinson (Graham Dashwood) – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER

Sponsored by Studiocanal

Elliott Tittensor (Tits) – Spike Island

Eloise Laurence (Skunk) – Broken

James Floyd (Rashid) – My Brother the Devil

Paul Brannigan (Robbie) – The Angels' Share

Zawe Ashton (Joyce Vincent) – Dreams of a Life

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION

Sponsored by Company3

Berberian Sound Studio

Ill Manors

Sightseers

The Imposter

The Sweeney

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

Sponsored by LightBrigade Media

Nic Knowland Bsc– Cinematography – Berberian Sound Studio

Joakim Sundström, Stevie Haywood AMPS IPS– Sound Design – Berberian Sound Studio

Electric Wave Bureau – Music – Broken

Robbie Ryan – Cinematography – Ginger & Rosa

Andrew Hulme – Editing – The Imposter

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Dreams of a Life

London: The Modern Babylon

Marley

Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir

The Imposter

BEST BRITISH SHORT

Supported by the BFI

Friday

Junk

Skyborn

Swimmer

Volume

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM

Amour

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Rust & Bone

Searching For Sugar Man

The Hunt

THE RAINDANCE AWARD

Frank

Strings

Love Tomorrow

City Slacker

Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet

THE RICHARD HARRIS AWARD (for outstanding contribution by an actor to British Film)

To Be Announced

THE VARIETY AWARD

To Be Announced

THE SPECIAL JURY PRIZE

Announced at the Moët British Independent Film Awards on Sunday 9th December